


Reacquaintance

by watcherofworlds



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Episode: s08e10 Fadeout, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:48:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23267998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watcherofworlds/pseuds/watcherofworlds
Summary: After twenty years apart, Oliver and Felicity get reacquainted with each other in the pocket dimension where Oliver has been living since the end of the Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak
Comments: 7
Kudos: 75





	Reacquaintance

**Author's Note:**

> AKA my personal interpretation of what happened after the very last scene of the series finale

As Oliver’s story of how he had first seen her in what had been his father’s office while in Star City- still called Starling City back then- while on a mission for Amanda Waller, three years before he would officially return to it came to an end, a thought occurred to Felicity through the warm, glowing fog of happiness suffusing her.

“This isn’t the afterlife,” she said, voicing that thought out loud. “Is it?” Oliver shook his head.

“So we’re not dead,” Felicity said.

“No,” Oliver replied. “We’re not.”

“So then what are we?” Felicity asked, her natural curiosity taking over. “ _ Where  _ are we? What is this place?”

“As I understand it, this is a”- Oliver made a familiar circular gesture with one hand as he cast about for the right words- “pocket dimension, that exists outside of normal spacetime.”

“Like the Vanishing Point,” Felicity supplied, remembering Sara telling her about the place in question.

“Like the Vanishing Point,” Oliver agreed, nodding. His every movement and gesture was deeply,  _ achingly _ familiar to Felicity, and it nearly made her weep to see them all again after so long without. 

“The Monitor mentioned that there’s no return from here,” she said. Even as she spoke the words, she was sure that even if there had been, she wouldn’t have cared. She’d been waiting for twenty years to be with Oliver again. She didn’t imagine that she’d ever want to leave him now.

“And that’s why to the rest of the universe, we’re effectively dead,” Oliver said, pulling her away from her introspections. “Because we can’t leave here. Unless…” He trailed off.

“Unless?” Felicity prompted.

“Unless the Spectre needs to be called upon again,” Oliver replied. “Which I hope never happens.” He pulled her closer, drawing her to him with that familiar pull, irresistible and inexorable as gravity, and pressed his forehead against hers. His voice a near whisper, he added, “I waited for you for twenty years. I don’t want to leave you again.”

“I doubt a universe ending threat comes around more than once in a lifetime,” Felicity reassured him. “You’ll never have to leave this place or me.”

“I hope you’re right,” Oliver murmured.

“You know that I am,” Felicity replied, that old familiar confidence returning, bolstered by Oliver’s presence. “Especially considering the state of the universe these days.” A breathless chuckle escaped her, and she said, “My husband created an entire universe from practically nothing.” She shrugged, shook her head, and added, “I don’t know, I guess I’m just now realizing how impressive that is.”

“I always thought that  _ you _ were the impressive one,” Oliver replied, the corners of his mouth curved upwards in a smile.

“Well, maybe we’re  _ both _ impressive,” Felicity countered with a teasing grin, marveling once again at how easy it was to fall back into their old patterns with each other, as if it had been mere moments since they’d last been together, not two whole decades.

“What’s most impressive to me,” she said after a moment, “is that the universe you created is one where our children got to grow up together.” She cupped Oliver’s face with her hands, feeling the scratch of his stubble against her palms and reveling in the sensation. “Oliver, you gave them the chance to be a family. Do you realize that?”

“I remembered what I had with Thea growing up,” Oliver said. “What I could have had with Emiko had circumstances been different, and all I wanted was for William and Mia to have it too. So when the opportunity presented itself…” He trailed off again.

“You did everything in your power to give it to them,” Felicity finished for him. She kissed him then, knowing that nothing she could say could possibly convey the full depths of what she was feeling in that moment. It wasn’t long before she felt a familiar spark alight between them, but she forced herself to take it slow and savor the moment. They had plenty of time to get reacquainted with each other. An eternity, in fact. After a moment, she pulled back, a thought occuring to her suddenly.

“After the Crisis, Sara told us that you’d become… something else,” she said. “Are you still?”

“Yes and no,” Oliver replied. “I’m still me, still Oliver, but the Spectre hasn’t left me. He’s still part of me. I think he always will be.” A pause, then he added, “I hear him sometimes,” and tapped the side of his head. “Whispering.

“I’m so sorry,” Felicity murmured, imagining how that must feel. “That sounds terrible.”

“It’s not so bad,” Oliver replied with a shrug. “He’s pretty quiet. And besides, I’ve had worse voices in my head.” At that, the only thing Felicity could do was make a noise of agreement and understanding. She knew, far better than most, the struggles Oliver had gone through on a daily basis throughout the eight years of his crusade, and she understood, far better than most, the negative voices he’d had in his head, always whispering, pointing out his every flaw and making him doubt himself at every turn. She understood it because she’d had voices like that of her own, and she knew she would always remember the moment they were given physical form as one of the worst of her life.

“Well,” she said when her introspective thoughts had run their course. “The important thing is that you’ve finally found rest. And peace. I know how important that was to you. How much you struggled for it.”

“Do you know,” Oliver replied, pulling her close to him again, drawing her back into the circle of his embrace, “that in the eight years before I ended up here, whenever I  _ did _ find moments of peace, or rest, I always found them with you?” Felicity felt her breath catch in her throat at that, overcome with emotion in a way that she hadn’t been since the moment she’d stepped through the breach that had brought her here.

“And now we’re togther again,” she managed to say. “Forever.”

“Forever,” Oliver agreed, and even though her back was to him, Felicity could tell by the tone of his voice that he was smiling. She understood why perfectly- after so long, they were with each other again, and this time nothing would tear them apart.


End file.
